Pokemon - The Light in the Darkness
by CruelShadowOwl
Summary: What happens to somebodies life when they are removed from that which they know? What happens when 4 years later they return? Will they be able to move past the scars of their past, or be consumed by them?


**I dont own any rights to Pokemon, Nintendo does. I do however own my OCs. This story will follow the Kanto region as my OC travels to get all eight badges, beat the elite four and all that good stuff. I will detail up to the Sinnoh region, they will be other fics however. Fairy type has no place in my fics, and no Gen 5-6 Pokemon will be mentioned. Ill add in 6 OCs from readers, you would need to write a introduction page, outline their connection to my OC, say if you want them to have a romance interest, give them at least 6 Pokemon to eventually get. No Legendaries please. One Pseduo Legendary per OC as well. If you give me your OC be warned, they could die, or go through a traumatic event. This fic wont follow anything to the letter, for example, in the Viridian Forest you can find Ghost Pokemon. Dont like me taking my own swing on things then dont read this fic. No legendaries will be captured in this fic, they will be in it for sure, but will only be a "boss battle" if you will. Rated M for Language, Dark themes, Sexual Situations and Gore. Read and Review, flames welcome as long as they are justified. **

The smell of burning flesh was strong in my nose, it was a sickening smell and I could hear the blood from all those people boiling, popping like grease when you made bacon. I hurled, the vomit getting all over my feet. The screams of the victims still filled my ears, but they were getting quieter and quieter as they passed on. I could hear the footsteps of the people who came and inflicted pain upon me, I didn't really know what to call them so that's what I remembered them by.

I could hear the crackle of the whips as they snapped back and forth, the hooks on the ends hitting the ground and making a loud metallic click and a scratching noise as they dragged on the rough floor. I franticly tried to hide in my cell, I could see small flickers of light from the torches that adorned the walls of the hallway. When the shadows of the men drew over my cell and I heard the familiar sound of clinking keys I froze. I was hoping that they would just move on and leave me be, but of course they wouldn't, they never did.

When my door opened and the rusted hinges creaked as the door opened I saw the familiar whips that ended in long, jagged, hooks. I shuddered as tears ran down my face.

"Please….just leave me alone…." I wailed between sobs. The men walked slowly towards me and one of them grabbed me and threw me on the rough cold bricks. He held my wrists together and shoved them on the sticks that protruded out from the end of the bed and tied my hands to it so I couldn't move them. Then he stepped back from me and waited. I braced myself for the pain that I knew I would fell in just moments and sure enough, it came.

White hot flashes seared my vision as the hooks came into contact with my bare flesh on my back. The previous wounds from yesterday opened as they made contact I'm sure, I lost count of how many times they had done this before, but the pain was fresh each time. They never said anything, just came in and repeated this process every day. The amount of lashes increased, first it was just one but now I lost count after twenty. My back was probably a scarred mess of healing tissue and fresh wounds.

I screamed each time the hooks dragged through my skin, fresh tears running down my face every moment. Eventually, I passed out.

When I came too I was still tied to the end of my bed, my back screeched in agony every time I tried to move. They had probably kept going after I passed out. I heard the familiar sounds of pained screams as some other poor soul suffered the same treatment as me, but something else filled my ears. Gunshots? Barking? These were all new, at least in this place. I panicked as I thought they were executing us and moving on. I tried to rub my wrists together to get them out of the rope, but all I succeeded in doing was giving myself rope burn.

I gave up and surrendered myself to my fate. When the door to my cell was smashed open and I heard the door fall somewhere close by I braced myself. I was scared, I didn't want to die. I wouldn't let me have the satisfaction of hearing my beg and grovel for my life so I clenched my eyes shut and simply waited.

"Oh my God…." I heard a voice say, feminine and soothing. I heard a pair of footsteps slowly come towards me, only these were light, not heavy like the two men that usually came in here. I felt a pair of soft hands on my back and I arched my back in pain of having my wounds touched. "Rob, help me with him, his hands are tied to that bar. I'd have Growilthe fry the rope but I don't want him getting overzealous and hurting the boy.

The other person walked over to my hands and ran something sharp through the rope. As my hands were unbound I fell to the side and laid there. I didn't have any energy to move and every movement sent large amounts of pain through my body. The woman spoke again as she slowly lifted me up, one arm holding me by the legs, and one at the back of my head.

"Don't worry, it's over now. I'm going to get you some help, just hang in there, okay? "She told me soothingly, I moaned in agony and nodded. I was scared to open my eyes, scared that if I did then I would wake up to more lashings. I'm sure she tried not to cause me any pain, but every step she took my body shook and my wounds protested. I blacked out shortly after.

I woke up to bright lights and had to shut my eyes as I was used to the dark of my cell. My back still hurt, but not nearly as much as before and I could actually move a little without searing pain being sent through my body. I heard the woman's voice again, the one that had picked me up in the cell.

"Hey, it's alright, you're safe now. Open your eyes." She told me reassuringly. So I did. I was in a hospital room, the white walls and the sound of a heart monitor being the first things I noticed. I was prepped up so my body was leaning on pillows and my legs rested on a bed. I looked to the sound of the voice and saw my savior. She had long blonde hair with deep green eyes and pasty white skin. She was wearing a gray sweater with gray track pants on. She was sitting on a nearby chair and smiled at me as I stared at her.

"What's your name, honey?" She asked me, still smiling. I blinked at her, not fully believing that this was real. I looked around the room and to my right was a glass sliding door with curtains on either side. There was a bathroom it looked like in here as well. The rest of the space was occupied with machines or chairs.

"N-Nathan…" I managed to choke out, my throat was dry and protested my speech. The woman sat up out of her chair and walked over to my bed. She stuck out a hand and spoke.

"Hey Nathan, my name is Claire. I'm a police officer, do you have any family we could notify? A Mother? Father? Any siblings? I'm sure that they're worried sick about you."

I raised my hand and closed it around hers and shook it. "No, my parents died when I was young, I'm an only child. Where am I?" I asked her curiously.

"I'm sorry to hear that, you're in the Pewter City hospital. How old are you?" She asked, releasing my hand and running her hand through her long blonde hair.

_Good question_, I thought. "What year is it?" I asked as I shifted around to get more comfortable, something that proved to be quiet difficult.

"Its August 13th, 2014. Why? How long were you in there?" She asked, her voice wavering. I could see pity in her eyes, an unwelcome emotion. I didn't want her pity.

"4 years. I just had my 18th birthday then. Could I get something to eat and drink? I'm starving." I deflected her unasked questions and unwelcome emotions by closing my eyes and turning away from her. I heard her sigh and walk across the room.

"Let me go see what I can get you." She said as the glass doors opened and she walked out. I opened my eyes and lifted the blanket off myself. My arms were bandaged up, much as I imagined the rest of my torso was. I pulled the IV's out of my arms and sat up. My back protested the movement but I needed to get up. I swung my legs over the bed so my feet hit the ground.

The floor was warm, much unlike my previous flooring. I stood up, holding onto my bed with one hand as I steadied myself. Once I got my balance I slowly made my way over to the bathroom. There was a shower, a toilet and a mirror in here. The walls were blue and had a floral wall paper around the room. I looked into the mirror, I hadn't seen myself in 4 years.

They must of cut my hair because it was short and last I remember it was long, dirty and greasy. It was still brown, just like I remembered. My eyes were blue and I had a scar running diagonally down across my eyebrow that went over my eye lid and down to my jaw bone. I honestly didn't know how they managed to not cut my eye, but I wasn't going to question it. My usual tan skin was a lighter tone, not exactly pale white but more white then tan. My cheeks were hollow from malnutrition and much of my muscle was gone, replaced by tightly wrapped skin. I lifted my shirt and my bones were clearly visible, the countless scars along my chest and stomach crisscrossing each other.

"You went through hell, kid. I'm surprised you made it out alive to be honest. Did you know that there were other people locked in there with you? You were the only one we found alive though." Someone said, it was a male voice, gruff and deep. I turned to him, he was an older man his hair was greying but you could tell his hair was black. His brown eyes shone with experience. His brow was creased, in either stress or worry and was wrinkled. He wore a black t-shirt with dark jeans and had a cigar in his left hand.

"I heard their screams, smelt their wounds, but saw nothing. My cell was dark and the only light was from the torches along the walls that let small amounts of light into my room. I don't know how I survived, but I did and I don't plan on sitting in a hospital bed for much longer, so ask your questions while you still can." I said, looked straight into his eyes.

"Don't have to act tough in front of me kid," he let out a small laugh and took a hit from his cigar. "I can't say I understand what you went through, because I don't, but it's alright to be upset." His voice had compassion in it, another emotion I didn't want from someone. I walked past him and back to my bed.

"I've had 4 years to wonder why I was in there, to try and figure out who was doing it, to wonder if my friends missed me. I'm done droning on about the past, there's no point. And if you wouldn't mind, I don't want your compassion. Ask what you need to ask. I've got something g to ask you first however." I sat back in my bed and rested against the tower of pillows.

"Shoot." He said as he took another puff from his cigar and walked over to a chair and sat down, eyeing me the whole time.

"I'd like to see Professor Oak. I was going to start my journey at 16, yet something popped up. I'd like to see if he has any starters left and be on my way." His eyebrows shot up, obviously he was surprised. His lips turned into a small smirk however and he nodded.

"I'll make the call." He said simply as he got up and left through the glass doors. Claire came back soon after with a tray of food, some mashed potatoes, a couple slices of pizza and a cheese burger. There was a big cup of brown liquid in a glass, probably coke. She set the tray on a table by my bed and moved it closer to me, so I could reach it.

"Here you go, I didn't know what you like so I just got you a little bit of everything." She said as she sat down on a chair. "I heard that you want to be a trainer, eh? Most people start their journeys then quit soon afterwards, not everybody knows how dangerous it can be. Pokémon are our friends, but they demand respect and wild ones will not hesitate to kill. I went on-" I cut her off, placing my tray on my lap.

"Look, you saved me and I appreciate that. But I'd rather not talk about this with a stranger, I'm going on it don't try to change my mind because you feel responsible for me. I'm fine, thanks for the food. Change the topic though." I said with some venom in my voice, I didn't really care what she did, I just wanted out of here. She clearly didn't expect my interruption as her face lit up with surprise. I think I hit the nail on the head with the whole her feeling responsible for me thing, I even felt kind of bad for basically telling her to fuck off but I didn't want to affect her life more then I already had.

"I'll be gone from your life soon enough, I already asked the other guy to call Oak for me. I know the dangers of what I'm going to do; I was top in my trainer class before I got taken. I will be fine, and even if I'm not I'm not going to let this change my life. I had a plan and I'm sticking to it." I said between mouthfuls. For hospital food this was actually pretty good, that was probably just because I had bread and water for 4 years pretty much, enough to live on but not enough to fully sate me.

"I can respect that I guess. I suppose it's wrong of me to care about someone who went through something that would break most people, stranger of not." Her normally soothing voice was laced with anger and she got up and walked out of my room. I didn't really care, less conversation the better. I cleaned through the food pretty fast and a doctor came in, along with a Blissey. I had never seen a Blissey up close before; sure I've seen Chanseys at Pokémon Centers but Blisseys were always with higher level doctors. They were pretty much the same as Chanseys, but they were a darker pink and in the middle of their torso it turned to white and they had small wing like things around their body. They had curls of flesh that resembled hair on its head, and of course had an egg in the pouch on its front.

The doctor was an older man, much like the other cop that was in here earlier. His hair was fully grey and he was starting to bald. He was slightly hunched and his white skin was covered in the classic old man wrinkles. He had age spots on his neck and hands, his eyes were a deep brown.

"Already taken your IV's out I see. Well, now that you're up I suppose you don't really need them. Frank tells me that you want to be out of here as soon as possible hmm? Well, technically you could leave whenever you wanted now. But I'm going to force you to stay for at least four weeks." My face must of shown my horror at being locked in here for two weeks because he let out a small laugh and shook his head. "Don't worry; you won't be stuck in here. I just want you to get some muscle back on those bones. You will be doing exercises and eating for the majority of your stay. Non-negotiable."

"Fine, but I want my starter Pokémon so I can start to build my trust with it, four weeks is a long time." I said, seeing that there was no arguing with this man. The Blissey walked over to my bed, it was actually pretty tall as it was able to take my tray from me with nothing but a girly grunt.

"Frank was on the phone with Oak when I came here, I'll see to it that Oak comes down here if possible. Blissey will get you more food." He said as he turned and followed his Blissey out of my room. I sighed as I looked at the ceiling of my room.

"_I wonder if Luna still thinks about me. Hell, I wonder if any of them still think about me, if they wonder if I'm alive._"My mind wandered back to before they took me. To the life I once knew.

"_You are worthless, you know that kid? Every day I wake up and see you and all I feel is disgust. You are not worthy of your mother's life, all you do is disappoint me time and time again. Why are you even still here you fucking cancerous growth?! Get the fuck out of my house and don't fucking come back." He had screamed at me, the smell of his latest drink wafting up my nose._

That was the last thing my father said to me. Sure I had told Claire that I had no siblings and my parents died when I was younger, but It was only half true. She didn't need to know about my abusive alcoholic piece of shit that was my father. I remember I ran to the park, it had been raining but I didn't care. He wanted me gone and I wanted to be gone.

_The rain felt nice on my skin, the droplets cooling down my burning anger and hatred every second. I kept running, I didn't have a destination in mind but that didn't matter, I just had to get away. I stopped when I got to the park, I was soaking wet and water dripped down my face. I ran to the gazebo and sat under its roof. My back against one of its stone walls, I curled my knees up to my chest and stared at the cold ground. _

_After what seemed like hours the rain stopped and the sun came out from behind the clouds. I was shivering uncontrollably and I was sneezing freely. My nose, which had been bleeding from fathers latest bleeding, was still sending blood down my face. It wasn't broken, but it sure felt like it. _

"_Nathan?" A quiet voice spoke, it was music to my ears and as I heard her footsteps coming closer and closer I started to shake more and more. She sat down next to me and wrapped her arms around me, bringing my head to her chest. I broke down and started to cry, my sobs muffled. She rubbed a hand along my back as her other hand held my head in place. _

"_Shush, shush. It's okay, I'm here." It was all that needed to be said, all that could be said. I wrapped my arms around her back, clutching her shirt in my hands. She started to hum, it was a beautiful sound. When my tears stopped I lifted my head to look at her face. Her gorgeous sapphire eyes shone like a street lamp along a path of darkness, her raven hair was held back behind her ears and ran over her shoulders. I ran one of my hands up her back so it rested on her cheek._

_She leaned into my palm, her pale white skin felt so smooth and soft, like silk. I gazed into her eyes for what felt like an eternity before I pressed my lips to hers. They were so soft against mine. I probed her lips with my tongue, asking for more. She granted it and opened her mouth to me, our tongues entwined together in pure passion. She pushed me back and rested her forehead against my own._

"Bliss! Bli Bliss!" The Blisseys cries brought me back from my day dream. Annoyed I glared at it, and saw it brought me more food. It set the food on the table and walked out of my room.

The next week passed by fast, and relatively uneventful. I had some nightmares of the time I spent in captivity, but nothing I couldn't handle. My days were filled with eating and monitored exercise. I started to get my muscle mass back, but it wasn't much. My workouts consisted of weights, a rowing machine and light running.

On the first day of week two however, things got interesting. Professor Oak came by. Back in Pallet, he was one of the people I turned to when my father kicked me out. He let me stay at the lab when I was kicked out for real, let me work with the Pokémon he had housed there and even paid me to look after them. He tried to get me to live at his place with his family, but I didn't want to be a nuisance.

When I saw him walk into my room I smiled happily, his hair was still cow licked at the front and it was as gray as ever. He had his classic lab coat and dress shirt on, something that never changed about him. I got out of my bed and we hugged, if only for a short while.

"Nathan, my boy! When Frank called me I came as fast as I could, but there was things I needed to take care of at the lab. It's good to see you alive and well son. When you went missing people thought the worst, sure there were search parties and everybody still wanted to believe you were out there, but 4 years is a long time. People can't wait forever." He said, his tone quickly deteriorating from the jolly Oak I knew to a grieving friend.

"Don't worry about it, I don't expect to just go back to Pallet and think that nothing will have changed. I don't expect anything, 4 years is a long time, you're right. But it's better to have a late start then never." I said, trying to comfort him.

He looked at me, probably taking in the 4 year difference. I was a lot taller than I was 4 years ago. I even have to shave daily now. His eyes lingered on my face for longer than they should have, no doubt staring at the scar I had. He nodded.

"Yeah. I guess it is. Anyway, I brought you your starter; I already knew which one you would want. You even got a nice surprise." He said as he pulled out a Poke Ball, just a classic red and white ball with the button in the middle. I held out my hands and he dropped the ball in them. "Go on, release him." He said encouragingly.

Speechless I did as he said, I dropped the ball onto the ground and sure enough a red beam shot out of the ball and a Pokémon appeared. It was a Charmander….but something was different about it. It wasn't orange like most Charmanders. It was a bright yellow colour. Its tail was still the same red and orange flame and his eyes were still bright blue, but the rest of him was a neon yellow.

He looked at me and cocked his head to the side. I went down to my knees and motioned for him to come to me, my voice still escaping me. He looked at me for a moment, as if fighting some internal battle. Then he nodded and ran at me, jumping at me. I caught him in mid-air and stood up, his eyes never leaving mine.

"He hatched out of an egg that we found in the flame habitat. I figured that since the others have a 2 year start ahead of you that you deserved a little extra. Also, here's your Pokedex, some money and a map. I also have a case of Pokeball here with me, there's only five left but I'm sure that's enough for you to capture something that will help you defeat Brock." He said as he put the items on my bed.

The Pokedex was a watch like device that had multiple interfaces and a build in scanner. I set Charmander down and scanned his ball.

"_Charmander, Male - Obviously prefers hot places. When it rains, steam is said to spout from the tip of its tail."_ The digital voice of the Pokedex said. I looked around the interface page until I found the naming section. I entered in Fenris and closed the page. I hugged Oak, still being unable to form words with my mouth. He put his arms around me and we stayed like that for a few moments.

"Thank you, for everything Oak. For all this, for being there when I needed you back then. I never got to say it before, so I'm saying it now." I said as I pulled away. Charmander was standing were I set him down, just looking at me. "I'm going to name you Fenris. How do you like that name, huh?" I asked Fenris. He cocked his head then opened his mouth and jumped on my leg. "I take it that means you like it, huh?" I said in confirmation.

"Have you contacted anybody else, Nathan? I'm sure that they would all drop whatever they were currently doing and make their way over here. Last I heard the majority of them were in Saffron." Oak asked me. I shook my head.

"No. I'm not going to either. They've moved on, it would be wrong of me to come back into their lives. Besides by the time they get back here I'll be long gone. I'm leaving in a few weeks, once the doctor gives me the okay. If I see them on my journey then I'll cross that bridge then." I said, not looking Oak in the eyes. I had picked Fenris back up and was playing with him on my bed, his tail was constantly swooshing back and forth. I was worried that he would put something on fire by mistake, but then I remembered that a Charmander and their evolutions tail flames were harmless unless you put something directly into the flame.

"Nathan, they would want to know that you're alive. Don't distance yourself more then you already are." Oak said with the tone only a parent could. I didn't answer him, I didn't want to. He sighed and shook his head. "I'm going to go, the lab need me right now. Think about what I said Nathan." He said as he walked out of my room.

I sat there for a while, playing with Fenris. He was an energetic little thing, and he seemed to follow my every movement. His baby teeth were sharp though, he nipped me a few times but never hard enough to draw blood. Eventually he curled up in my lap and fell asleep. I could feel the warmth from his tail as it burned, hot but harmless. I too fell asleep soon after.

Fenris followed me everywhere; I never had to put him his ball for being bad. He walked beside me and even tried to work out when I did, copying what I did. The nurses all squealed when they saw him, not only was he "cute" and "adorable" but he was a rare colour, and they wanted to get some pictures. He didn't like their attention; he would always cling onto the back of my leg when he heard the initial squeal. Of course, him being shy only made the situation worse so sometimes I had to put him in his ball.

Other than that, the rest of my stay was much like my first week. Eat, workout, eat, sleep, and repeat. When it came time to leave the hospital I was nervous, I was unsure if I was making the right decision, but I had already made it and I was sticking to it. Claire came back occasionally. She wasn't as nice as she was the first day after what I said and our conversations were always short. She mostly just asked me questions about the incident.

I saw Frank every now and then wondering the hospital; I never spoke to him just waved every now and then. When the doctor gave me the ok to leave I was gone. I had gotten a set of clothes that I asked Claire to go get me; I gave her the money of course. Just a dark blue t-shirt, black hoody, dark jeans and a pair of running shoes. I also asked her to pick me up a Pokeball holder, and she came back with a belt that had six pouches for them.

I put Fenris' ball in the first pouch and said my good byes to the nurses and Claire and Frank. They didn't say much, mostly just good luck and the usual shit that came with that. When I walked out of that hospital I didn't really know what to do first. I pulled out my map and saw that Viridian forest was nearby and thought that was as good as a place as any to train a fire-type starter.

I followed the road signs that pointed in the direction of the forest; I kept Fenris in his ball for now, neither of us really liked attention much and his yellow colouration would certainly draw attention. There was a long yellow building with a sign that said, "**Viridian Forest Entrance.**" I swallowed and walked into the building. There was a police officer watching television at a desk inside. A few other people, likely travelers getting their bearings lounged about. I walked over to the desk and knocked on it to get the officers attention.

"What kind of Pokémon can I find here, just Caterpies, Weedles and their evolution lines?" I asked him. He was clearly annoyed at being taken away from his show but he shook his head.

"Classic rookie mistake. There are more than them in this forest, kid. Sure there is an abundance of Caterpie, Metapod, Butterfree, Weedle, Kakuna and Beedrill but there is more than that. Pinsir and Scyther make this forest this home, as well as some Spinirak. Of course you can't have bugs without birds; Pidgey, Spearow, Murkrow and even the odd Skarmory make this forest their home. Very rarely some people even see some Pikachu, but good luck finding one of them. Also at night some people even report seeing Ghastly and Misdreavious, hell one kid even ran here crying after seeing a Duskull. Keep your wits with you kid, sure this forest is what most trainers call "rookie territory" but more trainers die in here because they think like that then some of the higher level areas." He said with a grim tone to his voice.

"Thanks." Was all I said. Was this place really the best place to train Fenris? I guess I would find out. I walked out of the building and into the forest. The forest was dark; the trees covered much of the sunlight. How was I supposed to tell time in here? I guess I would figure it out. I called Fenris out of his ball and we simply took in our surroundings. The trees were huge, each fanning out into contact with another, giving good homes to bird and bug alike.

The air in here was fresh; it felt much better to just be in here than it did to be in the hospital. There was enough light in the forest so that I could make out what was in front of me, but anything could be hiding in the trees or long grass. I would have to be careful in here. I followed a path in the forest that other trainers had made before me. Unfortunately the Pokémon in this forest knew that trainers often walked here and they seemed to avoid it. Often times I would see what looked to be a Caterpie or Weedle skirt around but before I could tell Fenris to attack they would be gone.

I needed to go deeper into the forest.

I picked Fenris up and walked off the beaten path, I made sure to break a tree branch every now and then so I would know if I went in a circle or how to find my way back. Sure enough in only a few moments a Pidgey flew down at me, aiming to peck at my head. I ducked and put Fenris on the ground.

"Fenris! When it comes around for a second attack, jump up and grab its legs and pull it down!" Fenris nodded and braced himself for the jump, bending his knees. The Pidgey came shooting at me, and Fenris timed it perfectly. Right as the Pidgey started to get near him, he jumped and grabbed onto its talons and swung himself to the left and yanked on its talons. The Pidgey shrieked as it flew into a tree, making a cooing noise as it tried to get back up.

Fenris, a little dizzy from his time in the sky was quick to jump onto the Pidgey and sink his fangs into its neck.

"Alright, Fenris let go." I commanded as I pulled out a Pokeball from my belt. I enlarged it and threw it at the downed Pidgey. It was encased in a bright red light as it was beamed into the ball. I watched with baited breath as the ball rocked back and forth. Once. Twice. Three times. The button on the front of the Pokeball clicked red, signalling a successful capture.

I pulled out my Pokedex as I walked over to the captured Pidgey. I picked up the ball in one hand and opened my Pokedex in the other. A small red light encased the ball as it was registered to me.

"_Pidgey, Female_ - _A common sight in forests and woods. It flaps its wings at ground level to kick up blinding sand." _The digital voice on my Pokedex told me. I went into the, "Naming", interface and typed in Isis. After I confirmed the name I shut my dex and returned it to my sweater pocket, along with placing Isis's ball on my belt.

I heard a strange grumbling sound and looked over to see Fenris glaring up a tree, growling. I followed his gaze and saw multiple pairs of bright red eyes. Very slowly I pulled out his ball and returned him. A loud buzzing sound filled my ears and I turned and ran, I figured that we had stumbled into a Beedrill swarm, but I wasn't going to stick around to confirm it.

I ran, my eyes constantly darting to my feet to make sure I didn't trip on a stray root and to the trees in front of me. After I felt that I couldn't run anymore I noticed that the buzzing sound was gone. I slowly stopped and looked behind me, I couldn't see any sign of the Beedrill. I sighed in relief and leaned against a tree to catch my breath.

My lungs were burning and it was hard to get my breath back. Realization dawn on me as I looked around myself. I was deep in the forest, with no way of finding my way back. I just ran in a random direction from the Beedrill and left my straight line to lean against the tree.

"Fuck." I said. I was terrified; I did not want to be stuck in this forest when something like a Pinsir came around. I didn't know what to do. Pulling Fenris out of his ball would allow me to make a fire, but that would just attract a lot of bugs, some stronger then I could handle right now.

I swallowed my fear and just started walking east, eventually I would come to the end of the forest and be able to get out of here. I really wished I had bought some potions or food with the money Oak gave me, Isis was probably too weak to effectively do battle with anything and I was starting to get hungry.

"I really want to find a Pinsir or a Scyther in this stupid forest. I don't want Caterpies or Weedles." A nasal voice said, I could barely hear it, but I started to walk towards the sound.

"Yeah, I wouldn't mind finding me a Pikachu in here. Imagine what my sister would say when I came home with a Pikachu. God I would pay money to see the look on her face." Another voice, this one sounded deeper, probably a guy.

"I want a Ghastly." A much quieter voice said, I couldn't tell if it was a guy or girl though.

"Ghastly? Why the fuck would you want a Ghastly. You're so weird Gwen." The nasal voice said, clearly meaning to insult Gwen. I could hear their footsteps and I increased my pace. I could see them through the trees now. One of them was easily 6 feet tall, he towered over the other two, who were probably just around 5 feet each. They were all wearing a hat of some kind that draped nets in front of their faces that connected to the hem of their shirt. They each had a big bag on their backs, probably food and a sleeping bag, I guessed.

"Hey, do you guys know how to get out of this place. I got chased by a swarm of Beedrill and lost my way." I said to them as I stepped into their field of vision. They all visibly jumped, before directing themselves to look at me. The three of them looked at each other, they looked like they were whispering to each other, I could see their mouths move but couldn't hear what they were saying.

"Yeah, but it's going to be night soon. It's better to just make camp right now." The nasal voiced one said, he had brown eyes with white skin, if he had any hair I couldn't see it due to the net.

"Yeah. Don't want to wander around here when the Ghosts come out." The taller one said as he crossed his arms in front of his chest. The girl, at least what I thought was a girl just nodded.

"Unless of course you're like Gwen here and actually want to catch a Ghost." The nasal kid said. Gwen visibly shuddered and seemed to shrink away.

"Come on, we can set up a little farther, there's a clearing." The taller one told me as he turned and started walking, the other two following. I shrugged and followed as well, might as well stick with these three for now. Safety in numbers and all that.

The tall kid wasn't lieing, after a short walk the grass and trees seemed to open up in a circle. It was just a completely random clear patch of grass in the middle of the forest.

"What the hell? How is this even possible?" I asked, mostly to myself but I got an answer from the nasal kid, they had already set their bags down and were starting to pull things out.

"Couldn't tell ya. We found this one day when we were exploring and we just accepted it. It would be stupid to not take the chance at having a fire and actually getting to sleep in this forest. Names Connor, by the way. The big one is Richard and the weird girl is Gwen. What's your name?" He asked me, never really taking his focus off unpacking his bag.

"Nathan. Thanks for showing me this." I said appreciatively. I didn't really know what to do, so I just sat between Gwen and Connor. It was quiet for a while as the three of them unpacked their sleeping bags and laid them out. Richard laid out rocks in a small circle that looked blackened and charred. Probably the fire spot.

"You wouldn't happen to have a fire Pokémon with you, would you?" Richard asked hopefully. He obviously didn't like starting a fire. I nodded.

"Yeah, I've got a Charmander." As I pulled out Fenris's ball from my belt. I tossed the ball on the ground and the familiar red beam summoned Fenris. He looked distressed and immediately ran into my lap, nuzzling into my chest._ "Right, I hadn't taken him out since the Beedrill swarm, he must have been worried."_

"Woah, why is it yellow and not orange?" Richard said in awe. I forgot that Fenris was a different colour, oh well. I shrugged and scratched Fenris under his jaw. He let out a small rumble of appreciation and started to wag his tail.

"Couldn't tell you, he just hatched like this." I said, not really paying attention to anybody but Fenris. If they wanted to know more, they didn't show it. Once Richard had some leaves and branches in the pit, he gestured for me to have Fenris start it.

"Can you light a fire in there, Fenris?" I asked him. He looked at me before walking over to the branches and sticking his tail under them. His tail flame suddenly got much bigger and smoke came off of it. I watched in awe as the branches caught on fire.

"Huh, I though Charmanders tail flames didn't burn anything. Guess that info is wrong, so much for the textbooks." Connor said, his nasal voice was starting to get annoying.

"Do you have any food? We have some for you if you don't, it's not much but it'll be better than nothing." Gwen said surprisingly, that was the first time I heard her speak since she said she wanted a Ghastly earlier. I shook my head.

"No thanks. I'm going to go to sleep here, wake me up if you want me to watch over while you sleep, or whatever." I said as I yawned and recalled Fenris and laid down and shut my eyes.


End file.
